Maxfield edges Tarkanian

Adrienne Packer and Diana Sahagun

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

As a political newcomer overcame what some believed the impossible Tuesday, the career of a well-known public servant faded when Chip Maxfield defeated Lois Tarkanian in the bid for Clark County Commission District C.

The 44-year-old civil engineer squeaked past Tarkanian by less than 1 percentage point, collecting 546 more votes than the veteran Clark County School Board member.

Tarkanian supporters huddled below a sea of yellow "Lois Tarkanian" balloons watched television newscasts intently as her numbers inched toward Maxfield's throughout the night.

But the excitement at her headquarters quickly deflated when Tarkanian conceded that, although small, Maxfield's lead was insurmountable.

After congratulating Republican opponent Maxfield on his win, Tarkanian said she believed Question 2 on the ballot -- the same-sex marriage initiative -- made the difference because it brought out more conservative voters.

"With the early voting, Question 2 put me behind," Tarkanian said. "We kept progressing throughout the evening but we ran out of precincts."

Maxfield collected 39,356 votes (48.48 percent) while his opponent received 38,810 votes (47.81 percent).

Although the margin was slight, Maxfield proved to Las Vegas Valley residents that his landslide victory over incumbent Lance Malone in September's primary race wasn't only due to Malone's gaffes as a board member.

He overcame two elements many thought were crucial ingredients to winning a bid for a commission seat -- money and name recognition. What Maxfield said he does have is a fresh perspective.

"I'm not a politician, I'm a businessman," Maxfield said. "I look at issues with a different point of view."

The race that turned nasty as it neared Election Day left both camps bruised. Tarkanian didn't have time to respond to Maxfield's television ads that tied her to a controversial land deal.

And Maxfield's family is upset about Tarkanian's claims that his ties to developers are so close he wouldn't take residents' concerns into consideration when voting on major developments.

"People told me I had to get a thick skin," Maxfield's wife, Kathey, said of his campaign. "I didn't."

While Maxfield's last-minute attacks on Tarkanian might have been damaging, she also struggled with her first campaign team that took her through the primary. Tarkanian said the team thought her name recognition would carry her through the general election and was not aggressive in distributing her message.

Tarkanian hired Steve Forsythe about a month ago, leaving her with little time to saturate residents with television and radio commercials.

"One of the factors at first was we weren't getting my message out on TV and radio," Tarkanian said. "We basically ended up running a four-week campaign."

The 66-year-old Tarkanian, a 12-year member of the school board, said she will likely retire when her term ends in January.

Meanwhile, Maxfield will be the only new face on a County Commission sometimes better known for its back-biting and political in-fighting than its decision-making.

Unlike Tarkanian, Maxfield said none of the commissioners have lobbied him to support them when the board is polarized by issues. If they do try, he said, they won't have much luck.

"I'm level-headed and I have common sense," he said. "I'll make my own decisions."

While the mood was tense at Maxfield's party and Tarkanian's headquarters Tuesday, things were much more relaxed at Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid's election bash at the Fiesta Hotel, where she was mostly surrounded by friends and family.

Although many said Kincaid could expect an easy win after defeating North Las Vegas Councilwoman Stephanie Smith in the primary election, Kincaid said she still had a bad case of election-night jitters.

"I have been a nervous wreck," she said. "Everyone has said, 'Don't worry, it's an easy win,' but I still worry."

Kincaid she was concerned if any damage had been done following the primary race, when Kincaid was attacked by Smith on various issues, including her commitment to children.

Although Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny was rooting for Smith in the primary, Kenny attended Kincaid's election party, greeting her with a warm hug.

Kincaid said she will continue to focus on issues that are important in her district, including parks and public safety.

Kincaid's opponent, Republican Glen Easter, took his loss in stride, saying he was proud of garnering 36 percent of the votes in a grass-roots effort.

But in the end, Easter said the race boiled down to Kincaid's name recognition and her hefty war chest.

Kincaid raised $1.1 million, but spent $100,000 more than she collected. Easter collected $7,440 and spent $6,694.

"The people we were able to reach with the issues, we got their vote," he said. "The trouble is, when you can't reach everyone with the issues, you can't get the votes."

Commission incumbents Yvonne Atkinson Gates and Bruce Woodbury had the smoothest campaign seasons. Neither had an opponent in the primary and both sailed through the general election easily.

In District D, Atkinson Gates defeated Republican opponent Joanna Wesley with 65.5 percent of the votes. Atkinson Gates collected 13.062 votes; Wesley received 6,878.

Woodbury collected 63.4 percent of the votes in District A. The commission chairman received 58,990 votes while his Democratic opponent, Jeff White, received 28,826 votes.